Get the Most Out of Instagram

Being socially savvy is hard work, especially when the impeding doom of maxing out your smartphone’s memory is constantly in the back of your mind. On a daily basis, you’ve checked your Facebook 23 times, your Twitter feed 14 times, checked-in twice on Foursquare, and updated your Google+…well…the list goes on. Social media is an integral part of our daily lives and a central conduit for communication with friends, colleagues and interesting folks. In recent months, Instagram, an intuitive, simple to use smartphone photo sharing app, has gained a lot of steam over the course of a year with over 50 million followers .

If you have an Instagram account, in which most of you reading this do, I’ve accummulated some quick tips for increasing your followers and likes to encompass more of the digital landscape. Feel free to add your own tips below, and comment on any of the content. Also, add me on Instagram! @johndsaunders

Cheers!

Don’t set your profile as private. Make it PUBLIC!

Setting your profile to private, especially being active in the social media space, is a no-no. You want individuals to be able to see your pictures and profile, so that they can decide if they want to follow you or not without you having to approve them first.

ALWAYS Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a great tool because, they provide specific content to users. For example, if someone is searching for cool new sneakers on Instagram‘s search bar, they might type in shoes, sneakers, kicks, etc…I would use the hashtags: #sneakers, #kicks, #shoes and anything I think would apply directly to those searching for sneakers.

It takes some time before a post, but it opens up the number of impressions for individuals searching at that moment to a broader amount. This promotes your new posts to thousands of users searching for pictures in your specific niche.

Post less than 3 times a day

There’s nothing worse than an overzealous Instagram user. If you’re scrolling through the Instagram live feed and five pictures from one individual’s profile shows back to back, you’re going to be a tad irritated. Someone who posts photos that much per day shows a level of egomania that’s should only be reserved for Twitter users, but…i kid i kid. Seriously, don’t do it.

This is a simple, effective way to promote your personal brand/new product/cute puppy, across platforms that include:

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Setting them up is easy, just click on the far right icon once you open up Instagram and click edit sharing settings. Then, you’re prompted to input the username and password for that respective platform and viola!

Check out the popular page!

It’s there for a reason! Take some time to view the popular page on Instagram. This page shows the most recent, and viral, pictures on Instagram, providing a front page view of what’s “trending”. Don’t directly copy, but emulate some of the ideas from popular posts that seem to work, it’s a great way to showcase your work (for artists, designers…) in an easy to use platform that promotes creativity.

Find and invite your buddies!

There’s a settings tab (on your profile page on the top right, looks like a gear).

Get your friends from other social networks to follow you on Instagram with this feature. As a new user, it can be difficult to gain followers. Click the “Find Friends” button to add friends from Facebook, Twitter, or your address book to gain a running start on Instagram.

These are just a few tips to help you while you’re Instagrammin’ good luck!